About 22 million adults in the United States classify themselves as atheists or agnostics. On the other hand, about 220 million adults believe in a God of some sort. Regardless of which view you currently hold, we can all agree that the time has come for an open discussion of God’s existence, the Bible, and Jesus Christ­—the pillars of Christianity.

Whether you believe in God or not, the approach of Reasons to Believe should be refreshing to you. This book lists reasons to believe in God, the Bible, and Jesus. What is so profound about that approach? In truth, it is often the case that people do not give real reasons for their beliefs. A reason is when an aspect of reality is coupled with proper thinking that leads to a certain conclusion. A motivation does not necessarily have anything to do with proper thinking or reality. If a man says, “I believe in God because my mother told me there is one, and she is the nicest lady I know,” he has not given a real reason to believe in God. In truth, how nice a person’s mother is has nothing ultimately to do with whether what she says is right or wrong.

Sadly, many Christians and atheists hold to their beliefs because of unreasonable motivations. To be candid, it is likely that all of us hold some beliefs without proper reasons. However, we should be willing to critically examine any unreasonable motivations that we may have, and reason together about the beliefs we currently hold regarding God, the Bible, and Jesus Christ.